Many parents of children have dealt with the struggle and unsafe situation that is created by a child who is easily able to wriggle out of the harness system that keeps the child in his or her car seat. While the harness system in newer-model car seats is intended to keep the child in the seat, even if the straps of the harness are securely fastened, more agile children are able to bring their arms out from under the straps and create a dangerous situation that can distract the driver of the car and cause potential harm to the child. In addition, many parents unknowingly place the chest closure of a typical 5-point harness system too low on their child, and not on the upper chest, where manufacturers recommend the closure be placed for maximum safety. What is needed is a solution to these problems that is cost-effective, safe, and compatible with most car seats.
Previous attempts at solving this problem have been made. U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,439 discloses a garment for use in a car seat, yet does not provide for the integration of the car seat straps within the garment itself. U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,371 discloses a type of vest to be used with a seat belt, but is not specially configured to fit the modern 5-point child seat harness system. Also, U.S. Patent Application Publication Number 2005/0017566 discloses an outerwear jacket made to be worn in cold weather, which facilitates the placing of car seat straps around the jacket without having to remove the outerwear thus subjecting the wearer to cold. However, this reference suffers from disadvantages, among them being the fact that the jacket assembly is complicated and not specifically directed to the problem above.
The present disclosure, however, relates to a jacket-type garment which remains in the car seat at all times and attached to the harness system of the seat. The garment is then ready at all times, and is put on a child when in the car seat to secure the child's arms in the seat. The harness system is then fastened as recommended by the manufacturer of the car seat, and the child, because the garment is attached to the harness system and retains the child within the garment, cannot remove his or her arms from the garment and also, by extension, the car seat harness straps.